This invention relates to improvements in wearable illuminated ornamentation or amusement devices. More particularly, the invention pertains to an article which may be incorporated or other affixed or secured onto wearable apparel, accessories, decorative items, toys or games, including for instance hats, jackets, shirts, backpacks or shoes.
Illuminated decorative objects have been known for sometime which provide illumination of the LED through a battery source. Examples include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,018,053, 5,253,149 and 4,009,381. These patents use a lighting source such as an LED powered by a battery and connected onto attachable clips, posts or the jewelry itself and are intolerant to impact, modification or flexibility of the items. The purpose of the LED's is to project light, and hence to illuminate another object.
In other prior illuminating devices, lighting of object is performed using fiber optics to obtain a back lighting which is relatively low in intensity when used for flat image or surface viewing. The optical fiber is usually not positioned directly under or integrated within the item to be illuminated making previous patents less efficient, vulnerable to separation, impact or flexibility. Thus, although such prior devices are known to serve their purposes, they have proven to be neither satisfactory nor do they reach maximum exploitation of uniform light illumination.
Thus, a need thus exists for an even more improved flexible, thin-format, light transmissive device which will insure even distribution of brightness while providing maximum illumination for logos, images or items within or on the surface of said item.